using a heater

walker1974

hi does using a heater speed up the fermentation speed as after 7 days there was no fizz in the larger or yeast in the bottles..?

HBO_Staff

When fermenting it is a good idea to try and keep the brew at a temperature within the range recommended by the ingredients you are using, if it is cooler then it will take longer, and may even stop, if it is warmer it can in some cases speed things up, but too warm and it can cause other problems. Ideally brew within the range, for many kits 20 degrees C or a little warmer tends to be usual, and the fermenting progress can be checked using a hydrometer if needed. Once it is ready to be transferred to bottles, they should be primed with sugar, and then sealed, left somewhere warm for a few days to help the sugars dissolve and get the secondary fermentation in the bottles going, they can then be moved somewhere a few degrees cooler to help them clear and carbonate. This is when the fizz will develop,a d the full flavours develop too. The flavours will continue to improve and for best results we always recommend leaving to condition in the bottles for a while, although it can be drank earlier. The lack of any fizz would usually suggest that the priming sugar needs more time to pressurise the bottles, and you may find they are still cloudy too

walker1974

many thanks....

Werner

I've made a number of apple ciders using fresh apples with much success by syphoning off the primary fermentation, then bottling and adding the recomended amount of sugar to each bottle then leaving it in an above 18 degrees C cupboard for a few weeks. However this time there is no carbonation (fizzyness) in the bottles but the cider has a nice flavour but flat . What can I do (if anything) to carbonate the bottles or should I just wait longer?
Werner

HBO_Staff

Once you have primed the bottles with sugar and sealed up it is usually just a case of waiting, the sugars should dissolve and yeast suspended within the cider will then secondary ferment and create the carbonation. Sometimes this can take a while, depending on temperature etc, and if you managed to leave a lot of sediment behind then there is less yeast suspended in the brew to work on the priming sugar, so this too can increase the secondary ferment time. It is probably best to leave it longer and see if it carbonates, try placing it somewhere around 20 degrees C for a few days, then moving it somewhere a few degrees cooler (perhaps 12 to 14 degrees C as a guide) and leave it for a few weeks and see if it creates some fizz. If you were to start opening the bottles and re-priming this could risk contamination, and is a last resort which could create a problem.